With Friends Like These
by InosBane
Summary: Kiba has a crush, who better to help him with it than Kankuro, Shikamaru, and...Yoshino? KibaSaku, mention of ShikaTema
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Guys sitting around talking...always dangerous.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

**Chapter: 1**

Kankuro was glad he was friends with Inuzuka Kiba. Shikamaru was a nice guy, and it was great that he was letting Kankuro stay at his place during the instructor exchange, but Kankuro liked to have a good time. Since the "sake disaster" when he'd first come to town, Shikamaru had sworn off going out to bars with Kankuro. Of course, that made Temari happy, but Kankuro had been bored until he met up with his old buddy, Kiba. The two shared a firm belief in a good time, and if one needed a little "hair of the dog" the next day, well, so be it. They could often be found giving Lady Tsunade a run for her money whenever she ventured out of her office and into a "real" bar.

Shikamaru was getting used to finding Kiba and Akamaru passed out in his living room at least once a week. After the first time, he didn't even bother to raise an eyebrow. Kankuro found a drinking buddy, and it didn't have to be him. So he'd just step carefully over the giant dog, walk into the kitchen and start making breakfast. The smells would eventually rouse the other three and then the small apartment would be filled with laughter as the two friends recounted the night's adventures for their host.

"She wanted me **BAD**!" Kiba boasted on one such morning.

"I don't think so Dog-Boy," Kankuro smirked showing a small bruise on his neck. "She was all about the Puppet Master!"

"Yare yare, no matter. Girls like that are just for fun. I've got a girl I'm seriously interested in." Kiba replied taking a nip from a small flask before putting it back in his jacket.

Shikamaru smiled.

"And her name would be Hinata right?"

"Hinata!" Kiba's eyes widened, "You can't seriously think I have feelings for Hinata? That'd be like dating my sister. Iya, that's too weird," Kiba shook his head. "Besides, she's not my type. I like girls with lighter colored hair."

"You mean like **my** sister?" Kankuro grinned, "watch out Shikamaru. Kiba here might give you a run for your money, you know Temari's wanted a dog since she was a little girl..."

Shikamaru closed his eyes and shook his head. Dog or not, **that **would never happen. Temari would eat Kiba for breakfast with wasabi on the side.

"Iya, Temari-san's not my type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kankuro pretended to be fierce.

"I don't mess with my friend's girls. That's not me." Kiba nodded to Shikamaru who muttered, "as if..." before opening his eyes again.

"Ino has light hair, it's Ino isn't it?" Shikamaru put in turning the conversation away from his girlfriend. "You'd better start bathing Akamaru twice a week if you're even thinking about asking Ino out."

Akamaru whimpered and looked at Kiba. He got bathed plenty enough as it was, no one had ever complained before. Kiba patted Akamaru on the head and smiled. Comforted, the dog went back to his breakfast.

"Iya, there's no way I'd date Ino. Hell, **I'd** have to bathe twice a day to please her."

"Well, you're running out of women, unless you're thinking about Anko or Shizune, but they've got dark hair..." Shikamaru choked on his food, "NOT the Hokage! Are you baka? She'd stomp you into oblivion!"

Kiba spit his coffee across the table.

"Kami, that's bakana!" Kiba replied getting a towel to wipe the table. "No matter what she looks like, the Hokage's older than my mom!" He shuddered.

Kankuro chewed his tamogoyaki thoughtfully before pointing his chopsticks at Kiba.

"Are you thinking about anyone in Suna, you know, besides Temari? Depending on who it is, I could talk to her for you. Afterall, being the Kazekage's brother does have it's advantages."

Kiba shook his head, dishing out more rice for Akamaru.

"It's okay, she's a local. I've had my eye on her since the Academy." He sighed, "but it's never gonna happen. She barely knows I'm alive, and she's in love with someone else."

Shikamaru mentally went through every girl they'd gone to academy with who had light colored hair. He shook his head, this was indeed troublesome.

"Kiba, what in the world would make you fall for Sakura?" He asked.

"Sakura?" Kankuro choked.

Kiba put his head in his hands and groaned. Akamaru looked up from his plate. He'd seen that look before, they must be talking about the girl.

"Hai, hai, she's been in love with Uchiha since we were all in diapers." He looked up, "Not to mention she's got Naruto and Lee constantly sniffing around her skirt."

"Not that either of those boneheads has a chance," Kankuro stated.

Kiba shrugged and moved his food around on his plate.

"It's like I said, she barely knows I exist anyways. But she's really smart, and since she's been studying under Lady Tsunade she's become a lot more focused as a ninja. She's pretty and she's powerful. Who wouldn't want that in a girl?"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Kankuro nodded. "She saved my life and helped rescue my brother. I could never repay her for that. Of course, if I set her up with her future husband, that might be considered repayment."

"NANI?"

Kankuro drummed his fingers on the table thinking.

"How often do you actually speak to her?"

"Not often," Kiba shrugged. "Maybe once a week if she's not on a mission and we run into eachother, but then it's just a 'hi'."

The Puppet Master sat bolt upright and snapped his fingers.

"That's it! If she's not on a mission, where is she?"

Kiba didn't understand where this was going.

"Probably at the hospital."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. Unfortunately, from the gleam in Kankuro's eyes, he knew exactly where this was going.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Kiba finds few things can be more dangerous than just sitting around talking.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

**Chapter 2**

"It's brilliant, **and** you'll get plenty of time to talk to her," Kankuro soothed while trying to get Kiba inside Kuroari. "C'mon, training accidents happen all the time. I've replaced Karasu's poison blades with normal ones, and I'm only using two. They'll just be flesh wounds. Honest!"

Shikamaru was holding Akamaru in a shadow bind so that he wouldn't attack Kankuro during the "accident". Though if he'd been anyone other than Temari's brother he would've probably released the dog by now. This was by far one of Kankuro's worst ideas.

"Troublesome." He muttered.

Kiba gulped, looked at Kankuro who nodded encouragingly, then at Shikamaru who shrugged. Akamaru whined as he mirrored the action. Closing his eyes, he stepped inside Kuroari. As the blades pierced either side of the puppet cage, Kiba's howls matched Akamaru's. Shikamaru was glad his chakra level was at full strength, otherwise, Kankuro would be a dead man. Then he'd have a real mess on his hands.

o-o-o

The pair raced an ashen faced Kiba to the hospital, leaving an enraged Akamaru alone in the apartment. Shikamaru was not looking forward to seeing how much damage the giant dog would inflict on his meager possessions.

Luckily, this was one of the times that Sakura wasn't on a mission. Kankuro mentally slapped himself for not checking, before explaining the tragic training accident to the pink-haired medic. Shikamaru sat outside on a bench, his face in his hands, shaking. An occasional tear seeping through his fingers.

To the casual observer, it might seem like he was overcome with emotion, worrying about his injured commrade. However, anyone who ventured closer would hear the whispered rasps of hysterical laughter.

Kiba meanwhile, was stuck in an odd place between intense pain, and intense giddiness.

Sakura was looking at **him**, and there was concern in her jade green eyes. Sakura was talking to **him**. Her soft voice was like beautiful music filling the room. Sakura was touching **his side** where the most damage had occurred. She was touching** his skin**, she was healing **him** with her own chakra!

The pain faded away, and Kiba laid back on the bed closing his eyes.

"Oh I love you Sakura, domo arigatou."

Kankuro's eyes widened and Kiba sat bolt upright wincing.

"Relax Kiba-kun," Sakura laughed. "Nan demo nai. That's not the first declaration of love I've received from a patient. As a matter of fact, Lady Tsunade told me her personal best was 163 in one day! Can you imagine?" She laughed again, focusing her chakra on his left leg, "the most I've gotten in one day is four. I guess most guys don't find girls like me as attractive as the Hokage."

"Well then most guys are completely baka!" Kiba stated a little too firmly to be able to play it off. Sakura's eyed Kiba while Kankuro cringed, then she smiled softly.

"That sounds like something Naruto would say."

"Don't do it! Don't do it!" Kankuro screamed inside his head, but as neither he nor Kiba were telepathic, the message failed to get through.

"Well, Uzumaki's right. There's more to a woman than her body. There's her personality, her demeanor. Compared to most of the girls in Konoha, Sakura, you're gorgeous!" During his declaration, Kiba had leaned forward and seized Sakura's hand, Kankuro had buried his face in his hands, and Sakura's eyebrows raised so high that they threatened to disappear into her hairline. She tried to pull her hand away, but Kiba held tight.

"Kiba-kun, that's really very sweet of you to say. But listen, I need my hand back, I have other patients I need to get to now that you're okay."

"But Sakura, I'm not okay. I really do like you. I've liked you since academy days. I've been wanting to ask you out for ages, and now that I've finally got the chance...well, will you Sakura? Will you go out with me?" Kiba clung to her hand for dear life, "just once, if you never want to see me again after that, fine. Just one date." Kiba was pleading, something Sakura had never known him to do before.

She looked over at Kankuro who was studying a poster on the proper way to clean between one's toes.

"Kiba, I..." She started.

"Just one date. Just one Sakura." Kiba insisted.

She looked again at the silent Sand Nin who was currently examining his own toes. She looked into Kiba's eyes. She'd never before noticed how much emotion could be found in his black fang-like eyes. Her mind was racing. If she went out with Kiba, Ino would claim Sasuke for herself. But was Sasuke even worth it anymore? How would Naruto take the news of her going out with Kiba? Kami, what about Lee? Just one date, no big deal right? No one had to know...

She looked at Kiba again and wondered how much blood he'd lost. Tsunade-sama had warned her about things like this. Patients falling in love with the medic who saved them, she'd experienced it once or twice,but never to this degree. Kiba's injuries hadn't even been life-threatening. But he claimed that his feelings for her went back to the academy. She could envision Ino laughing, making jokes about her marrying Kiba and giving birth to a litter of puppies.

She felt Inner-Sakura shake her. No one said anything about marriage. One date. That's all. That's also one more date than Ino could claim.

"Okay," she heard herself answer. "But this is just between us. Kankuro-san," she addressed the Puppeteer, "do you understand?"

Kankuro nodded, still staring at his feet.

"I'm off at six o' clock today, don't be late," She smiled.

After the door closed behind her, Kiba could no longer contain himself.

"YAHOO!" He shouted, punching the air with his fist.

The door opened again. Kiba froze, noting the hard to explain position he was in. Shikamaru walked in and looked from Kiba with his fist in the air, to Kankuro who was slouched ashen-faced in a chair.

"So?" He asked.

Kiba grinned, but it was Kankuro who answered.

"Genius here succeeded," he nodded at Kiba. "I tell ya, if it'd been any other guy, or any other girl..." He shook his head, "well, what matters is they have a date. This evening."

They looked over at Kiba who was humming to himself, before Kankuro whispered in Shikamaru's ear, "I don't think either one of them is right in the head."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The Language of Flowers **Heartsease **You occupy my thoughts, **Rosemary **Rememberance

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story

**Chapter 3**

Kiba went into Shikamaru's apartment alone to face the enraged monster dog. Shikamaru and Kankuro stood outside with their ears pressed to the door. There was some growling, as well as a few barks from two diffrent voices. They heard a bit of a scuffle and what sounded like a chair breaking before sudden laughter and what could only be described as "happy" barks from Akamaru. When the door opened, the first sight was of Akamaru sitting on what used to be Shikamaru's couch wagging his tail. A light dusting of feathers covered everything in the apartment. Kiba was standing at the door smiling nervously.

"Um, you're gonna want to wash your sheets before you go to bed tonight, Shikamaru." Shikamaru's eye twitched taking in the damage as Kiba continued. "I'll uh, clean up the uh, 'presents' Akamaru left around the place, and I'll replace whatever's been broken."

Shikamaru stepped into the apartment then turned to stare furiously at Kankuro who had slinked in behind him.

"Me too brother, I'll even send to Suna for a new table if you want. You like teak?" He grinned sheepishly.

Shikamaru nodded then went into his bedroom to get his linens. Talk about dynamic marking! He unceremoniously shoved the linens into a duffle bag and sighed. He needed to visit his parents anyways, and laundry was as good an excuse as any.

"I'll be back in two hours. Get as much done as possible." He hoisted the bag onto his shoulder then went to the window and picked up the rosemary plant Temari had given him. Mercifully, the rampaging dog had left it undisturbed, but he wasn't going to take any chances that one of the morons wouldn't knock it over while cleaning.

"Two hours. Then, troublesome as it will be, Kankuro and I will help you plan your date, okay Kiba?"

Kiba nodded and hurried to close the door behind the Shadow Nin.

o-o-o

Yoshino hadn't been pleased with the gift her son brought her, even after he explained the special circumstances. Though she took pity on Kiba and offered to help, she still threatened to write Temari and warn her off Shikamaru forever unless he started visiting for reasons other than laundry.

Consequently, two hours later Shikamaru arrived at his building in a foul mood. He'd seriously considered using the Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu on all of them. Remembering Yoshino's face when she saw the sheets, he was especially tempted to use it on Akamaru.

He opened his door with his eyes closed, somewhat terrified of what he would find. When he opened them, he could only stand in shock for a few minutes. The living room was completely bare except for an overstuffed chair that looked brand new. Kiba was in the kitchen wiping off the counters, and Kankuro was down the hall mopping up the bathroom.

"Hey brother!" Kankuro called out cheerily. "We told you we'd replace the broken stuff." He pointed at the chair, "it's a start, what d'ya think?"

"Where..." Shikamaru began, but Kiba cut him off.

"We're not done yet, don't worry, but maybe we could get to planning now? There's only an hour and a half until Sakura's finished at the hospital."

o-o-o

Shikamaru was getting comfortable in his new chair while he watched Kiba pace back and forth. He was naming places he could take Sakura to eat. He reasoned that it wasn't a real date unless a meal was involved.

"Hey Dog Boy!" Shikamaru broke Kiba's train of rambling. "The first thing you need to do is get a shower and change your clothes. Now, you're bigger than me, but not as big as Puppet Boy over there."

"Uh, that's Puppet **Master**..."

"Whatever," Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "My point, is that we don't have anything here that will fit you. Go home, shower, change your clothes, and leave the rest to us." He pointed to himself then to Kankuro. "Go on, let your friends do the dirty work, troublesome as it is, we want you to have a good time."

Kiba smiled gratefully, called to Akamaru, and sprinted out the door.

Shikamaru turned to Kankuro.

"Did Temari's love of plants rub off on you at all?"

Kankuro made the hand sign for "a tiny bit".

"But you've bought a girl flowers before right?"

"Does a cactus I bought for Gaara count?".

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head.

"Okay, just go over to Ino's flower shop. If her mom's there she'll do all the work for you. I've got to finish planning where and what they'll eat."

o-o-o

Kankuro walked into the Yamanaka flower shop having been warned about Mrs. Yamanaka and her perfume. He looked around a bit, completely at a loss. Not a cactus in sight. He hoped desperately for a whiff of perfume. After he'd spent a few minutes rocking back and forth on his heels and perspiring slightly, Ino appeared from the back carrying some sort of odd orange flowers. She looked over and was startled for a moment to see him standing there.

"Kankuro-san, have you been waiting long? I've gotta remember to tell dad that the bell's broken." She smiled, "looking for some flowers?"

"Uh, yeah," he said edging away from the orange flowers she'd placed in a bucket to his left. "Nothing crazy though, just something simple, for a first date."

"Kankuro-san!" The blonde smiled showing every tooth she had, "I didn't know you were interested in anyone particular. Who is it?"

"You've got it wrong, they're not for me, they're for someone else."

"Well of course they are baka!" Ino laughed, "flowers are always for someone else! So tell me, what is this 'someone else's' favorite color?"

o-o-o

Across town, a freshly groomed Kiba studied his reflection in the mirror.

"Well Akamaru?" He looked expectantly at the dog lying across his bed.

Akamaru barked a series of four short barks.

"Yeah, I know, I probably overdid the deodorant, but I'd rather smell too much like sandalwood than too much like B.O. if I start sweating."

He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Here it was, his one chance to outshine Uchiha. He exhaled. Or at least Sakura's memory of Uchiha. His confidence wasn't quite up to par as he tied on his hitai-ite and ran his hand through his hair one last time.

"Here goes nothin'..." he muttered to himself and Akamaru.

o-o-o

Ten minutes later, all three shinobi were in Shikamaru's apartment scratching out the final details of Kiba's date.

"Now, I worked it out with my parents, there's a small copse about one hundred yards from their house. You won't be bothered by anything except maybe a few deer, but they'll probably just hang out in the meadow." Shikamaru pointed to two bentos and a blanket on the kitchen counter. "My mom sent those over and wants you to know that the key to Sakura's heart can be found within. Whatever that means. Make sure **you** spread the blanket out, you're the one trying to do the impressing afterall."

Kiba nodded, then he and Shikamaru turned to Kankuro.

"Here," Kankuro handed Kiba a small bouquet of purple and yellow flowers. "They're called 'Heartsease'. They don't have too much scent, but they're perfect for a first date."

Kiba was silent for a minute while he gathered up the bentos and blanket and shifted the flowers in his hand.

"Wow, I uh..."

"No worries man," Kankuro patted him on the back. "You'll do the same for me sometime. But you're gonna owe Shikamaru some babysitting."

"Hai," Shikamaru grinned. "Wait...what?!"

Somehow, Kankuro was able to shove Kiba out the door while holding off Shikamaru.

o-o-o

Weighed down with flowers, blanket and bentos, Kiba made his way as quickly as possible through the streets of Konoha. It took him fifteen minutes to get to the hospital where he found Sakura waiting on a bench outside.

"I'm sorry I'm late, I had to explain to Akamaru why he had to stay home." He sat down next to her. Kami, but she was pretty. She'd gotten a shower too, she smelled fresh and clean with a hint of lavender. "Oh, here, these are for you." He handed her the flowers. "They're called 'Heartsease', I thought you might like them."

Sakura smiled at the flowers before her brow creased in thought.

"Where did you get them? You didn't mention our date to anyone did you?"

"Iya, iya. Kankuro picked them up for me, and he kept his mouth shut." Kiba's mouth felt suddenly dry. Kankuro had better have kept his mouth shut!

Sakura smiled again.

"Okay, it's just...well, you know how people are around here with their gossip. I don't want things going around that aren't true."

Or Sasuke finding out, Kiba thought before asking,"are you hungry? I'm not sure what's in here," he motioned to the bentos. "My uh...mom ...uh, packed them, but I'm sure there's some good stuff. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm starving actually, lunch seems like it was hours ago."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, holidays and all...**Umeboshi** One of Sakura's favorite foods, pickled Ume fruit. Salty and Sour, eaten with rice.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

**Chapter: 4**

"What a great spot!" Sakura exclaimed, looking around the copse as Kiba spread out the blanket. From their position, they were able to look out on a meadow, a doe and two fawns were walking through the tall grass. The sun was still providing ample light, and Kiba noticed that Sakura's skin was dappled from the tree cover. She was real, she was here with him, this was really happening.

"Shall we?" he asked indicating the bentos.

They sat down, opened the boxes and two juice bottles they'd picked up in town.

"Umeboshi! How'd your mom know? It's my favorite!"

Kiba blushed slightly, not really knowing how to answer. He took a quick drink of his juice. It went down the wrong way, and he began choking. Sakura patted him on the back...too hard. She succeeded in knocking him flat on his face. He sat up laughing and waved off her apologies. At that point all nervousness was gone, and they were able to relax with eachother. While they ate, they talked about teams, and missions, friends and senseis, and discussed at some length whether or not Naruto would ever become Hokage.

It was while watching Sakura finish the umeboshi with a smile on her face, that Kiba decided he needed an answer to something that had been sitting in the back of his head.

"Sakura, um," he bit his lip and played with his rice. "Sakura, why did you agree to go out with me? Does this mean you're getting over Uchiha Sasuke a little?"

Sakura swallowed her food with some difficulty. The question wasn't entirely unexpected. All of Konoha had known she was a Sasuke fangirl for most of her life. That was part of the reason she wanted to keep this first date a secret. She didn't want to be labeled a Kiba fangirl simply because she went out with him once. But she was enjoying herself. Maybe she'd even consider going out with him again, he really was sweet. Hyuuga Hinata had mentioned that from time to time, but she'd been too hung up on Sasuke to even give Kiba a second thought. She searched her mind for a way to answer his question. He was looking at her, and he deserved and honest answer. Was she getting over Sasuke?

"To be honest," She said looking him in the eyes. "I'm not sure why I said yes. No, that's not right. What I mean is, I said yes largely because of the way you asked. There were no loud pronouncements of eternal love like with Lee, and no whining like Naruto. No demands of 'forever', just a request for one date. You told me you liked me without demanding a swift return of affection. It made me want to spend time with you, get to know you better. As for Sasuke-kun," she broke his gaze and looked down for a minute. Kiba wanted to smack himself for bringing up Uchiha, but then she looked at him again and there was a small smile on her face.

"Sasuke-kun will always be special to me. He was an important part of my life for so many years, as someone I liked, and as a teammate. But when he left, I realized that Sasuke-kun is broken. It took me a while longer to realize that he doesn't want to be fixed. Not by me anyways. I still want him to come back to Konoha, but not because I want to be with him. Because he was my teammate, and my friend, and because I know Naruto-kun won't stop until he brings him back."

Kiba didn't know how to respond. She'd been more open with him than he'd expected.

"You were so sweet, the way you asked me," Her smile got bigger. "I figured 'why not', and frankly, I was flattered. We've never really hung out," she reached out and touched his hand. It was warm, hers was cool. "Thank you Kiba-kun, this was really nice. I'm glad I said yes." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek right in the middle of his tattoo. While Kiba struggled with himself not to touch the spot where her lips had been, she blushed.

The sun was fading behind the hills, and there was nothing more to be eaten, so they started packing up. Fingers brushing against eachother from time to time as they gathered up the bentos, blanket, and Sakura put the flowers in her pocket. As they walked back towards town, Sakura took one of the bentos from Kiba, and placed her hand in his free one. She decided that she didn't care who saw them together. This had been fun, Kiba was a really sweet guy, and she definently wanted to do this again.

o-o-o

As they passed the Nara house, Yoshino was looking out her kitchen window while doing dishes. She smiled to herself and made a little check mark in the air with a soapy finger.

"Three for three," she chuckled. "Now if only I can find nice girls for Temari-chan's brothers." It was obvious to her at least, that she'd missed her calling as a matchmaker. She'd have to tell Shikaku all about her latest success, once he got back from his "mission" at the sake bar.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The final chapter, hope yal've enjoyed this. I really like this pairing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anyone/thing in this story.

**Chapter: 5**

Kankuro drummed his fingers on the arm of Shikamaru's new chair. The Shadow Nin had gone to bed complaining that the day's events had been too troublesome, and that he just wanted it to end. That had been at seven thirty! Kankuro sighed. He wasn't sure if Kiba would be coming back to the apartment or if he'd go straight home. For the second time that day he realized how handy it would be if he was telepathic. He looked at the clock, it was close to nine, and there'd been no word from Kiba. He got up and decided that whatever the outcome, a bottle of sake was in order, so he headed off to the store to get one, or two. If it had gone badly they might need four or five.

"Maybe seven or eight for that matter."

o-o-o

"I'd like to see you again, if you're willing." Kiba said as they stood outside Sakura's house. They'd been standing at her door for about five minutes just smiling at eachother.

"I'd like that. I had a really good time." They were still holding hands. Neither really wanted to let go.

"Well, I've got a mission coming up in four days, it shouldn't last more than a week." She said yes, Kami, she said yes! Inner Kiba was dancing. "So, uh, if you'd like to plan for something after I get back, that'd be great. Unless you'll be away on a mission?"

"No, no missions for me for about a month. Tsunade-sama wants me working a the hospital, familiarizing myself with some of the newer healing techniques. Maybe we could even get together before you leave. I'm off tomorrow. We could train together if you want, it might be fun."

"Yeah, that would be great. I'm meeting Shino and Hinata tomorrow around two. You're welcome to join us."

"That'd be great. I'll meet you at the training grounds then?" She handed him the bento box, stood on her toes and kissed his cheek again. Then smiling at him one last time, she went inside.

Kiba closed his eyes, and gave in to the desire to touch his cheek. He mouthed the word "YAHOO!" before turning in the direction of Shikamaru's apartment. He couldn't wait to tell them that he had another date for the very next day!

o-o-o

Kiba ran into Kankuro outside the small liquor store. He shook his head at the proffered bottle, and instead dragged the puppet master to Ichiraku Ramen. Kankuro didn't protest, he was hoping that the girl whose dad ran the place would be working. Sure enough, Ayame smiled as the two sat down, and Kankuro divided his time between listening to Kiba and flirting with the cute waitress. Ayame was responsive to the attention much to her father's chagrin. Kiba wondered how funny Kankuro's jokes would be if she could see the love bite on his neck from some forgotten female. For his friend's sake, he hoped the hood stayed up.

Even if he was only half listening, Kankuro proved a great audience for Kiba's story. He was genuinely happy for him, and broke Ayame's gaze long enough to pat his friend on the back when Kiba told him that he had a second date.

"I told you Uzumaki and Lee didn't stand a chance. Didn't I?" He grinned as he took a bite of ramen. "I'm happy for you man. But this doesn't mean you get to turn into some kind of fanboy." Kiba assured him that wouldn't happen.

When they finished eating, Teuchi took their money and shooed them away. He wanted to close, but he also wanted to get his daughter away from that Puppet Nin. Teuchi had heard the rumors about the Shinobi's drinking exploits, and there was no way this side of Suna that he'd allow his daughter to be alone with someone like that.

As they walked the darkened streets, smiling for their own reasons, Kankuro looked over at Kiba.

"Shikamaru's already asleep. He said we made his day so troublesome that he just wanted it to end." He suppressed a yawn. "Wanna go dip his hand in a bowl of warm water?"

Kiba nodded grinning. He was glad that he and Kankuro were friends. He sure knew how to have a good time.

o-o-o**OWARI**o-o-o


End file.
